Getting underway in Waco

A big turnout at the pregame tailgating party hosted by the NSU Alumni Association, but a frustrating start to the game for the Demons. On third down at midfield, Baylor throws a bomb and the Bears' receiver wins a jump ball at the goalline for a touchdown. The Bears miss the extra point, however, and true freshman Calvin Stoker get the kickoff out near midfield.

Giving LC a place to practice

Heavy rains creating flooding in Alexandria also inundated Pineville and left the Louisiana College football team without a field to practice on today and Thursday. Nearby Deville collected almost 20 inches of rain.

The Wildcats couldn't practice on campus or at nearby Pineville HS, so they cruised up I-49 and followed the Demons on the turf at Turpin Stadium Wednesday evening. They will practice again Thursday in early afternoon before the NSU team hits the turf for a 3:10 workout.

Both teams are on the road this weekend. The Demons head to Baylor. The LC Wildcats open their season at Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla., about an eight-hour bus ride from home, according to head coach Dennis Dunn.

Back in business, after a near miss - or two

For almost four hours this afternoon, the relative comfort that the city of Natchitoches utility consumers were enjoying during Hurricane/TS Gustav came to a sudden halt. The city power popped off at the end of the lunch hour and was restored around the 5 o'clock hour.

It altered the Demon football team's practice plan -- NSU was going to wear full gear, but some of that gear was still in the drier about 1 so the team went to work in shorts and shoulder pads.

It almost caused one important member of the football staff four hours of isolation.

Film crew guru Mike Huesmann had just taken the camera gear to the sixth level film deck, overlooking the 50-yard line at Turpin Stadium. After setting up the gear, he strode toward the elevator, hit the button, saw the doors open, took a step inside and ..... lights out.

Ten seconds quicker and Mike would have been stuck in the elevator for quite some time.

That was not the closest call for an NSU staffer Tuesday.

Head athletic trainer Ed Evans and a neighbor on Mr. Ed Lane (really, that's the street) were clearing limbs and a tree that had tangled into power lines. That is usually something that shouldn't be done, due to the risk of the power line being hot, but in this case, there was no question about whether there was any electricity to worry about.

Turns out, that wasn't the risk factor. And Ed will not be in the tree clearing business ever again.

As they twisted the cable loose, it was wrapped around a broken portion of the trunk of the tree. Evans estimates it was a 200-pound chunk of wood with a jagged edge. The cable snapped and jerked one way, and popped the wood up in the air. Evans had the choice to dodge the cable or the wood. He chose correctly.

But barely. The chunk of pine landed right behind him, actually brushing his back. If he had been a half-foot further back, "I'd be dead right now," he admitted.

When it was suggested that his head was too hard for that to happen, he said not even that quality would have saved him.

While the city utilities are restored, those who live outside city limits are hoping for a quick resolution tonight. Sheriff Vic Jones arranged for an 18-wheeler packed with ice, which helped a lot of folks save food about to spoil in their freezers.

Ever the resourceful one, basketball coach Mike McConathy thought ahead and had dry ice for his fridge and freezer.

Flickering lights, future possibilities

Although it hopefully won't be necessary, and early signs are good, Turpin Stadium is the backup site for Saturday's football contest between Delta State and McNeese State.

McNeese played a home game here after Hurricane Rita in 2005, hosting Texas Southern in a game that NSU officials helped broker. Rita cost the Demons a shot at the Tigers, which ultimately almost certainly cost NSU a winning record (finishing 5-5 without playing a team they had easily handled a year ago). But TSU and McNeese both had openings when the Demons were headed to resume their schedule at Sam Houston State (a gritty win for NSU in a defensive slugfest), so they tussled in Turpin, complete with an NSU pep band playing Jolie Blanc, the McNeese fight song.

Meanwhile, back at the NSU fieldhouse, the video maestros of David Rosen, Mike Huesmann and John Schaekel were being hampered Monday afternoon by flickering lights which resulted from the havoc due to Hurricane Gustov's outer bands arriving. There were several game tape edits that didn't get saved once put together on computers because of the power pulses. Fortunately, as of 6:45 Monday evening, there haven't been any outages.

But from now forward for 24 hours, we should see the peak of the winds if the forecasters are correct.

Coach Stoker told the team in a brief 5 o'clock huddle that anybody who didn't feel comfortable at their apartments tonight was welcome to come hunker down in the fieldhouse. The luxurious sofas and lounge chairs in the locker room and upstairs in the football lobby, donated by the Truax family in memory of young Christopher Truax, will have never been put to better use.

Storm preps

Sunday, the NSU track coaches were removing and storing anything that could be blown away by the coming storm -- the high jump pit, the pole vault pit, and other implements. The same thing was being done at other outdoor venues Monday morning.

It was business as usual Monday morning for two teams. Soccer players were heading out to the field for a 10 o'clock practice and football players were getting ready to hit the field at 10:45.

So far, there are mild winds and overcast skies. The Red Cross shelter in the Health and Human Performance gym on campus is filled to capacity.

And as you've noticed already, the volleyball match at Louisiana Tech Tuesday night has been postponed.

Here for Gustav

So far, NSU is hosting McNeese's volleyball, soccer, women's tennis and men's and women's cross country teams on campus. Football could wind up here, but the projected storm track as of late Sunday night seems to indicate Lake Charles will be spared major impact.

The basketball teams at McNeese and UNO have been offered housing here, if there is significant impact to their campuses or practice facilities.

The Demon Alley Tailgating Zone, which has cable TV, water and electricity hookups around the football practice field, is filling up. A few RV's never left after Saturday night's game, and others have arrived. Nice that the NSU Athletic Association had the vision to provide such a setup and great to see it used at a time of need.

The NSU teams are settled in. The campus dining facilities are operating. The height of the storm seems destined to occur after dark Monday and into Tuesday. The only competition for NSU this week is a Tuesday night volleyball match at Louisiana Tech, and it would seem that could be postponed for a day or two depending on the road conditions Tuesday and weather issues, but nothing will be decided until Monday or maybe even Tuesday morning.

LSU's football team had made inquiry with Coach Scott Stoker about practicing here Tuesday, but now that seems unlikely.

Nicholls' team, like the McNeese team, has been sent home. With the potential for serious damage in the Houma-Thibodaux area, the Colonels might need to relocate along the lines of what McNeese did after Hurricane Rita in 2005.

One lighter note related: Associated Press reports that Southeastern's football team was invited to headquarter at Ole Miss for the week. Ironically, SLU plays Ole Miss's arch-rival, Mississippi State, next Saturday! Coincidence? I think not.

Bills coach praises D-Bell

From www.buffalobills.com, lead journalist Chris Brown writes about rookie offensive tackle Demetrius Bell, the 2007 Demons' All-America who made the Bills' 53-man roster Saturday:

"....Bell was considered a developmental type player. However, Bell learned fast and got a ton of playing time in the preseason with the likes of Jason Peters absent and Patrick Estes and Matt Murphy both injured for a time.

Bell let his athletic ability take over and he came on so fast that putting the Northwestern State product on the practice squad would simply be too big a risk.

“For him it’s probably been really good that we’ve been limited at the spot and hurt by injury because he’s gotten a lot more time than he would have,” said head coach Dick Jauron. “It’s really accelerated his development and he’s worked really hard at it. I probably didn’t anticipate it at this point we’d be this happy, but I certainly didn’t anticipate we would see this much of him in the game situation. He did a nice job.”